Vol. 12 No. 1 (2021): The Inquisition in focus, two centuries after its extinction: victims, victims and possibilities of analysis
2021 marks the 200th anniversary of the end of the Portuguese Inquisition, an institution that
throughout its 285 years of operation, started in 1536, believed itself responsible for
ensuring Catholic purity, persecuting and prosecuting those who, in some sense, threatened
the Church, whether in the kingdom or in its domains, extending beyond the metropolis, between
the south of America and the confines of Asia. With the Catholic monopoly in the Portuguese
world, each and every individual became subject to inquisitorial control. In Brazil, for
example, the Santo Ofício acted by sending visits and creating, over time, a capillary network
of representatives, such as family members and commissioners. If suspects of Judaism were
the main victims, other behaviors considered to be deviant also filled the pages of
confessions, complaints and proceedings of the Court of the Holy Office: bigamists,
petitioners, deviant sexual behavior of all kinds, offenses and questioning of symbols and
dogmas. Christians, magico-religious practices, in short: an extensive list of faults that,
in the limit, put everyone (although some more than others) under suspicion.
throughout its 285 years of operation, started in 1536, believed itself responsible for
ensuring Catholic purity, persecuting and prosecuting those who, in some sense, threatened
the Church, whether in the kingdom or in its domains, extending beyond the metropolis, between
the south of America and the confines of Asia. With the Catholic monopoly in the Portuguese
world, each and every individual became subject to inquisitorial control. In Brazil, for
example, the Santo Ofício acted by sending visits and creating, over time, a capillary network
of representatives, such as family members and commissioners. If suspects of Judaism were
the main victims, other behaviors considered to be deviant also filled the pages of
confessions, complaints and proceedings of the Court of the Holy Office: bigamists,
petitioners, deviant sexual behavior of all kinds, offenses and questioning of symbols and
dogmas. Christians, magico-religious practices, in short: an extensive list of faults that,
in the limit, put everyone (although some more than others) under suspicion.
Published:
2022-05-01
